California Hospitals Rated On Safety
California's hospitals ranked ninth in the nation in terms of safety, according to new data issued on Tuesday by the Leapfrog Group. And while just 41% of the 253 facilities graded statewide by Leapfrog received a score of “A,” that is significantly higher than the nationwide rate, which was about 32%.
The Washington, D.C.-based Leapfrog's annual Hospital Safety Score ranks inpatient facilities on a variety of criteria, including the use of practices intended to avoid medical errors that lead to potentially fatal patient conditions.
Among the practices examined include medication reconciliation, the use of computerized physician order entry; swift removal of a urinary tract catheter after surgery, and rates of handwashing for hospital staff.
Hospitals are also measured on avoidable events, such as falls, air embolisms, retained surgical instruments and patient mortality based on post-surgical complications.
Leah Binder, the Leapfrog Group's chief executive officer, praised hospitals for making progress after the organization's 2010 survey indicated many were making little to no progress in terms of improving patient safety. Altogether, there was a 6.3% mean improvement in scores nationwide since the last survey was released in 2012.
“The data tells us that more hospitals are working harder to create a safe environment, and that’s good news for patients,” she said. “It’s a reflection of the ability to galvanize change in healthcare transparency via the Hospital Safety Score and other efforts.”
Altogether, 104 hospitals in California received a grade of “A.” Kaiser Permanente's hospitals were among the most consistent among large hospital systems, with 33 receiving “As.” Subtracting the Kaiser facilities, the rate of As in California drops from 41% to 33%.
Kaiser officials credited the high scores in part on an effort that has cut the rate of c. difficile, a sometimes deadly hospital-acquired infection, by 62%. The Oakland-based Kaiser estimated the reduction effort has saved about 500 lives at its Northern California facilities alone.
"Patient safety is a top priority for Kaiser Permanente, and this recognition is a tribute to the important work being done by our physicians, nurses, clinicians and care teams," said Bernard J. Tyson, Kaiser's chief executive officer.
Another 58 hospitals statewide received a grade of “B”; 68 received “Cs”; and 18 received “Ds.”
Five hospitals statewide received failing grades. All but one are located in rural areas. They include Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield; El Centro Regional Medical Center; Madera Community Hospital; Western Medical Center in Santa Ana; and Natividad Medical Center in Salinas.
Despite the overall improvements in safety by the 2,500 hospitals participating in the Leapfrog survey, Binder noted that 400,000 Americans still die every year due to medical errors, hospital-acquired infections and other mishaps that have occurred during their course of care. Binder also noted that several prominent institutions in the survey received poor grades.
“This spring we saw 8 million people sign-up for health insurance via the Affordable Care Act, and as they launch a search for healthcare providers, we’re urging them to put safety first and look for an ‘A’ hospital in their area,” Binder said.
